ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Friday named Justice Ghulam Rabbani of the Supreme Court as head of the monitoring cell created to monitor the progress in corruption cases under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance.
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari faced fresh calls to step down Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty that had protected the increasingly unpopular leader and several of his political allies from corruption charges.
The decision late Wednesday sharpened political tensions in Pakistan just as the United States and its other Western allies want it to unite and fight against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants based along the Afghan border
In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the NRO, the ever-churning political waters in the country have been stirred to a frenzy. Uncertainty, if not panic, is detectable in the ranks of the PPP brain trust as the judicial wheels have swiftly started turning with unknown consequences. Meanwhile, sections of the media have gone into overdrive against ‘tainted’ and ‘immoral’ NRO beneficiaries, regardless of whether the cases had resulted in convictions or not.
KARACHI: Business community appears to be delighted over the decision of Supreme Court on NRO as they expect it would send a positive signal to foreign investors who have, so far, been skeptic about rule of the law in the country.
The response of leaders of the private sector over the landmark decision was positive who found it to be just and fair.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court here Thursday issued show cause notice to Interior Minister Rehman Malik for December 24 for interfering in the judicial direction of the Court for probing Rs22 billion loss reported by Pakistan Steel Mills.
The three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Ch. Ejaz Ahmed and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, also directed Director Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Mir Amir to carry out his investigation and submit a report on the next date of hearing.
ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar has been stopped at Islamabad International Airport, sources said.
The Defence Minister was on his way to China with his wife and secretary when he was stopped by airport officials.
Mukhtar has been put on the Exit Control List following the annulment of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The Defence Minister was named among the beneficiaries of the NRO, in which top politicians and bureaucrats were given amnesty from corruption allegations and cases.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court verdict on NRO will bring the 11-year-old SGS corruption reference against President Asif Zardari and late Benazir Bhutto to public glare once again, legal circles say.
In the reference, Ms Bhutto, Asif Zardari and their agent Jens Schlegelmilch were alleged to have received $60 million in kickbacks from SGS in exchange for the award of a pre-shipment inspection contract to the Swiss company in 1994.
ISLAMABAD: As a result of the Supreme Court judgment scrapping the National Reconciliation Ordinance, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and a number of other bigwigs are likely to lose their posts because they had been convicted by accountability courts.
The apex court decision restores the pre-NRO situation and those who had been sentenced in cases withdrawn under the NRO would stand convicted.
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court verdict on NRO will bring the 11-year-old SGS corruption reference against President Asif Zardari and late Benazir Bhutto to public glare once again, legal circles say.
In the reference, Ms Bhutto, Asif Zardari and their agent Jens Schlegelmilch were alleged to have received $60 million in kickbacks from SGS in exchange for the award of a pre-shipment inspection contract to the Swiss company in 1994.
LAHORE: Opposition leaders have welcomed the Supreme Court decision on striking down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and demand resignation of all public offices holders who benefited from the ordinance.
Pakistan People’s Party leaders say they will discuss the issue in its central executive committee meeting scheduled for Saturday (Dec 19) in Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD: In what has been billed as a verdict that may change the course of country’s political history, the Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as never to have existed and against the Constitution by reviving all cases and reversing acquittals of its beneficiaries, thus putting the PPP parliamentarians and cabinet members and President Asif Zardari in a quandary.
In a late-night short order that has no parallel in country’s judicial history, the 17-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, ordered the federal government to take immediate steps to seek revival of the original requests or claims for mutual legal assistance to pursue money laundering cases pending in foreign countries, including Switzerland.
